Hong Kong (AFP) Sept 6, 2017
A Kenyan park ranger who said his closest friend was shot dead while protecting elephants urged Hong Kong not to compensate the city's ivory traders in an emotive speech to lawmakers on Wednesday.
Hong Kong is a major hub for ivory sales and last year announced that it would introduce a total ban on the trade.
But authorities later clarified they would only completely abolish the trade by 2021, drawing criticism they were dragging their feet and trailing China, where officials last year pledged ... read more

Mexico, Russia eye energy trade relationsWashington (UPI) Sep 5, 2017
Structural reforms in the energy sector could lead to greater bilateral trade between Mexico and Russia, Mexico's president said from a regional summit. ... more

In smartphone age, the hajj is for sharingMecca, Saudi Arabia (AFP) Aug 30, 2017 Arm outstretched, Abdul Rahman sweeps his mobile phone across the vista of Mecca, the Great Mosque dazzling in the sun, so his son in Tanzania can experience the pilgrimage to Islam's holiest sites. ... more

Tributes to wetter times on MarsParis (ESA) Jul 14, 2017
A dried-out river valley with numerous tributaries is seen in this recent view of the Red Planet captured by ESA's Mars Express.
This section of the Libya Montes region, which sits on the equator a ... more

Villagers in Niger 'massacre' 27 hipposNiamey (AFP) July 13, 2017 At least 27 hippos have been slaughtered in a touristy zone in western Niger by villagers who blame them for destroying crops and harming livestock, local authorities said on Thursday. ... more

Nigeria floods displace more than 100,000Lagos (AFP) Aug 31, 2017 More than 100,000 people have had to flee their homes after heavy rains and flooding in Nigeria's southeastern Benue state, President Muhammadu Buhari said late Thursday. ... more

'Tsunami-sunk' Roman ruins discovered in TunisiaNabeul, Tunisia (AFP) Aug 31, 2017 Vast underwater Roman ruins have been discovered off northeast Tunisia, apparently confirming a theory that the city of Neapolis was partly submerged by a tsunami in the 4th century AD. ... more

prices jump as Irma approaches FloridaNew York (AFP) Sept 5, 2017
Orange juice prices jumped in New York on Tuesday as Hurricane Irma's approach cast a shadow over the citrus-producing US state of Florida.
Irma has become a "potentially catastrophic" Category Five hurricane, the most ferocious category of storm, the National Hurricane Center said.
Its likely path shows it hitting the British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and ... more

Don't be salty - tiny tubes desalinate water one molecule at a timeChicago IL (SPX) Aug 30, 2017
Earth is 70 percent water, but only a tiny portion - 0.007 percent - is available to drink.
As potable water sources dwindle, global population increases every year. One potential solution to quenching the planet's thirst is through desalinization - the process of removing salt from seawater. While tantalizing, this approach has always been too expensive and energy intensive for large-scal ... more

Periodic table of ecological niches could aid in predicting effects of climate changeAustin TX (SPX) Sep 04, 2017
A group of ecologists has started creating a periodic table of ecological niches similar to chemistry's periodic table. And just as chemists have used their periodic table as a point of reference to understand relationships among elements, the emerging table for ecologists shows relationships over time among animals, plants and their environments - acting as a critical resource for scientists se ... more

Moscow gets its first traffic signals powered by renewable energyWashington (UPI) Aug 28, 2017
The Russian capital, Moscow, now has its first traffic signals ever to be powered by renewable energy, the nation's Center for Traffic Organization announced.
"Traffic lights of the new system have two independent sources of energy: a wind generator and a solar battery," Vadim Yuryev, the head of the Russian Center for Traffic Organization, was quoted by the Tass news agency as saying. ... more

Reusable ruthenium-based catalyst could be a game-changer for the biomass industryTokyo, Japan (SPX) Sep 04, 2017
Known for their outstanding versatility, primary amines (derivatives of ammonia) are industrially important compounds used in the preparation of a wide range of dyes, detergents and medicines.
Although many attempts have been made to improve their synthesis using catalysts containing nickel, palladium and platinum, for example, few have succeeded in reducing the formation of secondary and ... more

Texas chemical plant area declared safe after controlled blazeHouston (AFP) Sept 4, 2017
A fire at a chemical plant in Crosby, Texas has been put out and authorities have lifted an evacuation order after declaring it safe, the company said in a statement Monday.
The remaining chemical containers at the Arkema plant were deliberately ignited on Sunday and burned themselves out, it said.
"The Crosby Fire Department and unified command has determined it is safe for residents to ... more

Trump's turn on S.Korea risks alliance: analystsSeoul (AFP) Sept 4, 2017 Donald Trump is playing into North Korea's hands by turning on the South, accusing it of appeasement, snubbing its leader and threatening to end their trade deal in moves that analysts say risk weakening a decades-long alliance.
More than 24 hours after Pyongyang shook the ground and the world with what it said was a hydrogen bomb test, the US president had yet to speak to his South Korean c ... more

Huge Australia-bound cocaine haul siezed by French navySydney (AFP) Aug 4, 2017
A massive cocaine haul bound for Australia in the hull of a yacht has been intercepted by the French navy in the Pacific, officials said on Friday.
The 1.46 tonnes of the drug with an estimated street value of Aus$322 million (US$256 million) was seized in the South Pacific and four crew members, believed to be Lithuanian and Latvian nationals, arrested.
The vessel "Afalina", which set s ... more

Saudi Arabia shortlists 25 bidders for major wind plantRiyadh (AFP) Aug 29, 2017
Saudi Arabia invited bids Tuesday from 25 shortlisted companies to build a 400 megawatt wind power project, as the world's top oil exporter pushes for renewable sources to diversify its energy mix.
The plant in northern Al-Jouf province is the first utility-scale wind project as part of the government's reform plan to wean the kingdom off oil, which has set a target of 9.5 gigawatts of renew ... more

Scientists prolong life, slow aging in fruit fliesWashington (UPI) Sep 6, 2017
Researchers in California are helping fruit flies live longer.
A team of biologists at UCLA have developed a way to repair damaged mitochondria in fruit fly cells, thus delaying the aging process.
The mitochondria is the engine room of the cell - the powerhouse. They dictate the lifespan of a cell. In humans, older mitochondria malfunction and damaged cells can accumulate and tu ... more

Russia may reduce US diplomatic personnel by 155: PutinXiamen, China (AFP) Sept 5, 2017
Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened Tuesday to expel up to 155 more US diplomatic personnel from his country as the diplomatic feud between Washington and Moscow rumbled on.
"We reserve the right to make a decision on how many American diplomats there are in Moscow. But we will not do that for the moment," Putin told a press conference after a summit of BRICS nations in southern Chi ... more

Human settlement in the Americas may have occurred in the late PleistoceneWashington DC (SPX) Aug 31, 2017
Analysis of a skeleton found in the Chan Hol cave near Tulum, Mexico suggests human settlement in the Americas occurred in the late Pleistocene era, according to a study published August 30, 2017 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Wolfgang Stinnesbeck from Universitat Heidelberg, Germany, and colleagues.
Scientists have long debated about when humans first settled in the Americas. Whil ... more

Kremlin says 'contradictory' reports on Baghdadi deathMoscow (AFP) July 17, 2017
Moscow on Monday said it was struggling to confirm if the leader of the Islamic State group Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead or alive, a month after reporting his possible demise.
The Russian army said in June that it was trying to verify information that its jets killed Baghdadi during a bombing raid near the IS stronghold of Raqa in Syria.
But over a month after the announcement Kremlin s ... more

Expanding tropical forest spells disaster for conservationRaleigh NC (SPX) Aug 31, 2017
A North Carolina State University study shows that fire suppression efforts in Brazilian savannas turn many of those areas into forest lands, with negative consequences for the plants and animals that live there.
Expanding forests suck up CO2 from the atmosphere, but the plants and animals from savannas struggle to cope in the leafier environments. Encroaching forest resulted in major loss ... more

Kongsberg gains Norwegian, South Korean contractsWashington (UPI) Sep 1, 2017
Kongsberg Defense Systems will maintain gear boxes on Norway's Sea King helicopters, under a deal with the Norwegian Defense Logistics organization.
The framework agreement, which could cost as much as $37.9 million, is in effect until 2020 and has a three-year option.
"This framework agreement secures a continued operation of the Norwegian Sea King helicopters until the new AW10 ... more

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